How to open up more with others: 6 tips for socializing

Knowing how to open up to others can be a challenge for shy or reserved people. What to do?

Human beings are gregarious by nature, and regardless of our personality characteristics, we need contact with others in order to achieve an adequate social development, which allows us to learn from others and to know ourselves better.

In this article we are going to see how to open up more with other peopleIn this article we will see how to be more open with other people, so that we can overcome shyness or excessive zeal for privacy that often prevents us from making contact with others. We will also see some of the reasons why we could present problems to socialize.

Why do I find it hard to open up to other people?

In order to see how to be more open with other people, it is necessary to understand that this psychological limitation in relating to others can be due to a variety of personal or social factors.

For example, there are individuals who are introverted in nature who find it much more difficult than others to initiate friendships or have spontaneous social contact, since they feel less interest in others than others.They are less interested in intellectual stimuli outside their body. These introverted people are radically different from those who are able to interact with any stranger at the public transport stop, or while waiting their turn to pay in line at the supermarket.

The ideal is to have an adequate balance between introversion and extroversion, conflicts in relating to other people often arise when the subject is in one of the extremes of these two aspects.

For example, a subject who is too introverted will have problems relating to others because he/she does not feel comfortable during social protocols, while those who are too extroverted will have conflicts in socializing due to their exacerbated behavior in search of external stimuli.

Some parenting styles may also negatively influence the way they open up to others.. Those who were raised in an overly protective style may have difficulties with self-confidence and self-esteem, making interpersonal relationships difficult.

On the other hand, those who were raised in a completely permissive environment will present social difficulties based on ignorance of limits; they are subjects who generally believe that everything is allowed and do not easily understand when to desist or decrease the intensity of contact.

How to be more socially open?

The irrational fear of relating to others is motivated by social anxiety, which arises when the subject takes for granted that any contact between him and other people will end badly in some way. That is to say, the person anticipates his social failure and this predisposes him to make mistakes..

To reduce this thought pattern it is necessary to do a logical exercise where we answer key questions to ourselves: Why am I afraid of contact with others? Does it make sense that I am afraid of contact with strangers? Why do I think that things will always go wrong?

By answering these questions you will realize that in most cases there really is nothing serious to fear regarding social relationships, and you will take a predisposition to leave behind the limiting thoughts that generate the feeling of social anxiety.

However, to learn to open up more with other people you have to move from words to actions, and this is not easy: it requires practice, not just questioning certain beliefs. It is to say that as long as you limit yourself to reflection, you will not make significant progress where it matters, which is in the context of real-time interaction with people who talk to you.

In the following lines we will examine a list of practical tips for you to improve the way you open yourself to social relationships.

1. Accept the difficulty of contact

The first step should always be to accept that we have a difficulty with social relationships. Regardless of the causes, it is important that we do not avoid this fact and that we are ready to recognize where we can improve.

There are unconscious defense mechanisms that make it difficult for us to recognize our own limitations and make us look the other way. For example, when we shift the blame to other people or circumstances we are moving away from the real issue.

2. Relaxation techniques to reduce social anxiety

There are several simple exercises that can help you lower your overall anxiety levels, which are useful before and during certain intense social interactions. For example, controlled diaphragmatic breathing exercises can help, as well as certain Mindfulness exercises that only take a few minutes. In addition, some of them are so simple that you can some of them are so simple that you can put them into practice without being noticed, although ideally you should do them in a quiet space that offers you privacy..

3. Create bonds of trust

Trust is fundamental for a friendship relationship to transcend. That is why we must try to make people feel confident with us. This will not be achieved in a forced or hurried way.The ideal is to let the relationship gradually acquire these tints.

Some methods to build trust with others may be; tell them some personal anecdotes about ourselves, expose our own vulnerabilities and ask for the opinion of others about a significant issue for them.

4. Improve your self-esteem

In order to achieve quality relationships and have the strength to open up to others, it is necessary to work on our garden (ourselves) first. We must be able to see the value we have as people and understand that we are on equal terms with others. understand that we are on equal footing with others when we interact. when we interact.

A good way to achieve this is to perform an exercise of personal affirmations; we place ourselves in front of a mirror and tell the person in front of us several reasons why he/she should be valued. For example, "you are noble because you like to help other people", etc.

5. Avoid prejudices

Prejudices are generalized thinking styles in which there is an all-or-nothing, all-or-nothing, all-or-nothing, all-or-nothing situation. an all-or-nothing situation, categorical thinking, when it comes to valuing others.. This kind of experience only plunges us deeper into anxiety and hopelessness of relating properly with others, because it leads us to feel that we do not fit in.

It is important to keep in mind that not all people are the same, even though we all have different tastes in certain aspects.

6. Not changing your essence

In order to be liked, many people go to the point of abandoning their principles or tastes just to be accepted in groups. just to be accepted in groups. However, this is counterproductive, because it makes no sense to lose oneself. it makes no sense to lose oneself in the process of pleasing others..

Remember that principles are not negotiable, you must always be you and make others see that you are capable of respecting their opinions even if you do not agree with them, as long as they do the same with you.